Warnings: brief violence, mentions of suicide (Lucas's little comment)

Word Count: 3435

Karen sighed and checked her watch once again and glanced up past the staircase for her daughter. As soon as she came home from school, she zoomed up to her bedroom, skates still on and all, and shut herself inside. She knew Doc hadn't yet finished her costume and that was no doubt what she was working on, but the sky was starting to darken and she didn't want the kids out too late. She had called that up to her three times already and Doc had reassured her every time that she was almost done.

"(Y/N), come on now!"

"Okay, okay, here I come!" Doc called back before the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard. At the sound, Mike, Dustin and Lucas all rushed over to the staircase to see the costume Doc had yet to mention.

Mike's face fell when his sister came down the stairs, a bright smile on her face. Karen gasped and readied her camera as Doc carefully stepped off the last stair. "Oh, sweetheart, you look amazing!"

"Awesome." Dustin grinned.

"So cool." Lucas agreed.

"What the hell?!" Mike exclaimed at his sister, who was wearing a matching Ghostbusters costume. Only her costume was homemade, with the patches sewn onto a jumpsuit the same color as theirs, much like Will's. Her name tag, rather than displaying one of the character's names, said Doc on it. "What are you wearing?!"

Doc did a little spin on her skates as Karen excitedly took pictures. "I'm a rollin' Ghostbuster! Made it myself. Not the proton pack and the ghost trap, though. Mom bought those separately."

Mike whirled on his mother. "You knew about this?!"

"Oh, hush, Michael. She looks adorable." Karen rolled her eyes.

"We didn't plan this!"

Doc's grin dropped as she turned to her brother. "It's Halloween, Mike, why did there need to be a discussion?"

"There's only four Ghostbusters!"

"And there's only one Venkman!"

Karen held her hands out toward her children. "That's enough, you two."

"Come on, Mike," Lucas sighed. "Leave her alone, man. She spent a lot of time on the costume and she looks awesome."

"Thank you, Lucas." Doc smiled, skating past her brother and to the front door. Mike glared at the spot she once stood before following his friends out the door. Just as the door closed behind them, Jonathan's car pulled up and honked. The four of them happily waved and crossed the street, waiting on Will.

When he got out of the car, Doc's eyes lit up. He crossed the street as the boys began to cheer for him, but he was only focused on her. "Wow, (Y/N). You made that?"

"Yeah," She blushed and looked down at herself. "You like it?"

Will chuckled as she did a spin once again. "It's so cool."

"You ready for tonight?" Lucas asked as they began their way down the street.

"I'm always ready for the best night of the year."

When the three boys smiled and turned away, Will quickly pressed a kiss to Doc's cheek. Softly gasping, she smiled a smile so wide, her face could have split in two.

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"If I get another 3 Musketeers, I'm gonna kill myself." Lucas sighed out as the five walked away from a house they had just gotten candy from. The very nice woman had brought their spirits down just a bit when she gushed about them being 'cute little exterminators'.

"What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?" Dustin frowned.

"What's wrong with it?" Doc raised a brow.

"No one likes 3 Musketeers." Mike shook his head.

"Yeah, it's just nougat." Will agreed.

Dustin widened his eyes. "Whoa, 'Just nougat'? Just nougat? It is top three for me."

"Top three?" Lucas scrunched up his face.

"Top three!"

"Oh, god. Give me a break." Mike rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, I can just eat a whole bowl of nougat. Straight up."

Just then, a kid dressed up as Michael Myers jumped out in front of the Party, growling and waving a fake knife about. The five all screamed in terror, Lucas's a shrill squeal. The unknown kid had stopped what they were doing when their candy bucket exploded, the candy they had collected thus far spilling out onto the street below them. The Party froze as the kid moved their head down and slowly removed the mask, revealing themselves to be Max. "What the hell?"

Doc could feel the eyes of the boys on her as she gulped, truly embarrassed that she had gotten so frightened. Perking up, she took her candy bag out of the spare bag it was in and crouched down, beginning to put Max's candy into it. "Don't worry, I've got a spare."

Max blinked at the girl before also crouching down to help, her head snapping up to the boys. "You guys should've seen the look on your faces," She chuckled, the boys calming down a bit, Mike rolling his eyes in annoyance. Her eyes moved over to Lucas. "And you? Who screams like that? You sound like a little girl."

The two girls stood, Doc holding the bag out to Max. "Thanks," The redhead smiled. "Cheap buckets... Anyway, you guys coming? Oh, I heard we should hit up Loch Nora. That's where the rich people are, right?" She turned away with a short laugh and began down the street. Without a second thought, Doc followed after. Lucas and Dustin quietly cheered and went as well with Will following behind. This left Mike to stare ahead, clearly disappointed, before reluctantly following as well.

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    "Who are you? I'm Maria. Will you play with me? Would you like one of my flowers?"

The beeping from the radio nearby distracted El from the film she was watching. Throwing the blanket off of her, she pushed herself off of the couch and ran over to the radio that was beeping morse code. With a hopeful look, she turned her attention to the alphabetical guide nailed to the wall. "L... A... T... E... Late."

Exhaling through her nose, El shut off the still-beeping radio.

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Will absolutely gushed at his girlfriend as he recorded her with the video camera lended to him by Bob, his mother's boyfriend. "Get this, Will. Watch." Doc pointed toward her feet. Will grinned and directed the camera down to her skates. Handing her bag and costume props off to Lucas and Max, she raised her hands above her head and began to do a cartwheel.

She let out a short scream when she started to tumble, but quickly caught herself back on her wheels before she could hit the ground. This nearly gave everyone a heart attack, but when she rose with joyful laughter, they all calmed themselves. "Okay, okay, so I can't do that yet! But I can do this- Will, are you still recording?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Okay, look," Carefully raising one foot, Doc grabbed onto it and stretched her leg out as she continued to glide on one foot. "I've been working on this for a week."

The boys, minus Mike, let out their exclamations of awe before Doc set her foot back down, Max handing her pack and bag back to her. "That's pretty badass, (Y/N)."

"Thanks!"

"You teach me how to roll and I teach you how to board?"

"Deal!" They shook hands.

As the four before him continued to talk and laugh, Will turned the camera to Mike, who was glaring at the group. When he noticed the camera on him, he turned to Will. "Did you agree to this?"

"What?" He lowered the camera.

"To her joining our party."

"It's just for Halloween."

"You should've checked with me."

"Well, (Y/N) invited her and the guys were excited. I guess I thought you'd be okay with it."

"She's ruining the best night of the year."

As the group neared the next house, Doc turned around, the grin she was wearing falling when she saw her brother walking alone behind them. She stopped abruptly as Mike moved past her without a word. Her stomach dropping, Doc skated away from the house, desperately looking around for Will.

"Will?"

She couldn't see him anywhere in the sea of children.

"Will?!"

Suddenly, a wave of nausea crashed onto Doc and she stumbled a bit with the force of it. When she turned to the right, the feeling only got stronger. Taking a deep breath to brace herself for the amount of unease she was about to undergo, she skated in that direction. Much like with her powers, she played a game of hot and cold until she was stepping down a small staircase. "Will?! Will!" She gasped and dropped down to the boy, who was shaking in fear, his knees pulled tight against his chest. "Hey, what happened?"

As soon as Doc placed her hands on his, her surroundings once again became darker, colder. Will's frightened eyes widened, as if he was just now seeing her. "W-What the...?"

"Behind you." He shakily whispered. Just as Doc was going to turn around, Will was shaken and everything went back to normal. The two quickly turned to Mike, who was worriedly staring at Will.

"Will, what's wrong?" Mike's attention was solely on him as Doc slowly rose to stand, Will's spaced out expression stuck on her. "I couldn't find you! Are you hurt?"

"Holy shit!"

Doc flinched at Dustin's voice as he, Lucas and Max ran down the stairs and over to them. "Is he okay?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know," Mike shook his head, beginning to help his friend up. "I'm gonna get you home, okay? I'm gonna get you home. Hold on."

Doc moved forward to try and comfort Will. "Hey, are-"

"I got him, Doc."

"Mike, I was here with-"

"I got him!" Doc nearly fell over when Mike pushed her away a little more roughly than he intended. Dustin and Lucas held onto her so she wouldn't fall, neither of them happy with what had just happened.

"Whoa, whoa!"

"Mike, what the hell?"

"Don't put your hands on her!" Max also defended.

Doc held a hand to her chest where Mike had shoved her. She wasn't upset about the fact that she could have fallen over. Mike had never physically harmed her. He would've never dreamed of it, the both of them knew that. He could yell and curse and insult as much as he wanted, but it was an unspoken promise that he would never cause physical harm to her. But now that promise was broken, and Doc didn't know how to feel about that.

Mike hesitated for a split second, regret flashing in his eyes before he began to help the whimpering Will up the stairs. "Keep trick-or-treating. I'm bored, anyways."

When the two disappeared past the staircase, the three turned to her. "You okay?" Dustin asked.

"I-I better go with them." She exhaled, following after Mike and Will. When she reached the street, she saw Bob's camera laying there, forgotten. Doc picked up the camera and searched it for the power button Will had shown her. With a sniffle, Doc turned off the camera and began her way back home.

After removing her skates and setting them by the front door, Doc headed to the kitchen and placed the camera down on the counter before going to the basement. Quietly opening the door, she walked down a couple steps, but stopped when she heard Mike and Will speaking.

"I don't know. Just... Just please don't tell the others, okay? I don't want (Y/N) to worry and... Dustin and Lucas won't understand." Will quietly spoke.

"Eleven would." Mike whispered.

"She would?"

"Yeah. She always did... Sometimes I feel like I still see her. Like she's still around, but she never is," He sniffled. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Me, too."

"Hey, well, if we're both going crazy, then we'll go crazy together, right?"

Will chuckled. "Yeah. Crazy together."

Tears in her eyes, Doc turned and walked back out of the basement, slamming the door behind her.

"(Y/N)?" Karen frowned as her daughter stormed past her and up to her room. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

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Hopper bounded up to the porch while clutching a candy bucket in his hand that he had bought off a child. Opening the screen door, he knocked twice, then once, then thrice. When El didn't answer, he tried again. He knew he had really messed up when she still failed to answer. "Hey, kid. Open up, alright? Look, I know I'm late. I got candy here, alright? I got all the good stuff."

Still no answer.

"Please, will you open the door?! I'm gonna freeze to death out here!"

As soon as the locks sounded, Hopper pushed open the door and rushed inside, his eyes scanning the cabin as the door shut behind him. El was nowhere in sight, but neither was the television, the cord snaking all the way to her room, under the closed door and inside the room. With a sigh, Hopper walked up to her door. "Hey, kid. Open up, would ya? I got, uh... stuck somewhere, and I lost track of time. And I'm sorry. El, would you please open the door? El?"

When she still didn't answer, he sat down on the couch and began to open a piece of candy. "Alright. I'm just gonna be out here all by myself, eating all this candy. I'm gonna get fat. It's very unhealthy to leave me out here. Could have a heart attack or something. But you know, you do what you want."

From within her room, El sat before the television, using her power to turn the channel until she got to one that only had static. Satisfied, she picked up a strip of cloth and wrapped it around her head to cover her eyes. She let the sound of the static drown her and when she opened her eyes, she was in the Void.

    "It's day 353."

Turning to the right, she could see Mike in his Halloween costume, sitting in her old fort and talking on his walkie. She slowly moved towards him as he continued.

    "I had a bad day today. I... hurt Doc. I-I didn't mean to, but... I don't know. I guess I wish you were here. I mean, we all do. If you're out there, just please, give me a sign."

When she reached him, El lowered herself until she was sitting on her knees. As if he sensed her presence, Mike slowly looked up at her with furrowed brows. El stared right back at him with hope in her eyes. "Mike."

"Eleven...?"

With hesitancy, El slowly reached her arm out in hopes of caressing his face. She was afraid. Afraid of the possibilities. Would he not feel anything? Will he panic and move away? Or would her touching him completely ruin everything? Eleven never did get the chance to answer her own questions, for Mike had given up. With her hand right beside his face, he pushed the antenna down on his walkie and stood up, walking away from the fort. She could have burst into tears right then and there, but she remembered that Mike was not her last chance.

It didn't take El very long to find Doc. Truthfully, she had searched for her many times more than she had Mike. It was easier to find Doc, all she had to do was reach out for her power. It instantly reached back for her and when she held firmly onto it, she could see a bed in the distance. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was Doc, turning restlessly in her sleep. El knew that Doc was having yet another nightmare, she'd seen too many times when searching for her. She hated that Doc could never get a full night's rest and she just wanted to soothe her.

El had hoped that gently running her fingers along Doc's head would lull her into a better sleep, but it did the opposite. As soon as she made contact with Doc, her (e/c) eyes flew open wide.

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    "Doc."

"E-Eleven...?"

She knew she was insane at this point. Right there above her was Eleven, with longer hair and staring right at her in concern. Her breathing labored, Doc flung her body upright. She saw El's body move so she could be seen, but when Doc blinked, she was gone. "El...?"

Doc couldn't stop the tears that trailed down her cheeks or the sobs that she muffled into her hands. Any other time, no one would have known that she had just woken up from a nightmare because Doc had been sleeping with a closed door for almost a whole year now, but she had begun sleeping with an open door again. So, her brother had heard her when he came upstairs.

"Doc?" Mike pushed the door open further. Seeing his sister sobbing on her bed, he rushed over to her side. "Doc, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sick of this..." She blubbered as Mike gently rubbed her back.

"Sick of what?"

"These nightmares! I just got rid of the old ones and now I have new ones! But- But these are worse... I see Barb, I see the Demogorgon, I see the bad men that I killed. I-I see El," Mike widened his eyes at that. "Every time I try to sleep, I hear voices a-and I feel like I'm going crazy!"

Mike had never felt so guilty. He realized how much of an unsupportive brother he's been. For a year now, Doc had been helping both him and Will through their emotional times, but no one had ever stopped and asked Doc how she was feeling. She had been through the unspeakable for as long as she could remember. She'd almost been kidnapped and she did what needed to be done to save herself and the people she loved. Mike knew, he always knew that Doc hated what she did. And he had used that against her as a comeback.

Doc sniffled and rubbed her nose. "I don't even know who I am. I don't understand a single thing about myself. Every time I think I do, I find something new to be confused about. I-It's not fair that I have all this baggage that I know nothing about," She turned to Mike, dried tears stuck to her cheeks. "But I don't wanna feel this way... Because we have to worry about Will..."

Mike had no idea what to say. He knew that Doc didn't need anyone to sympathize with her, she got that enough. What she needed was empathy, she needed someone who understood. Mike wanted so badly to empathize with her, but he couldn't even begin to understand how she felt. Yes, he lost El, but he didn't lose his past, didn't go through years of captivity, he's never had to make the hard decisions and then be haunted by them.

He did hurt her, though. In more ways than one. The least he could do was apologize for that. Before he could, though, Doc had managed to calm herself down just a bit and was settling back into bed. "Can you please leave?"

Mike blinked as she laid down, turning her back to him. "Doc-"

"And can you leave my door cracked open?"

Doc shut her eyes, not even wanting to imagine the possible expression on her brother's face. She heard his footsteps make their way to her door and the creaking, but never the clicking, meaning he had done as she asked. Exhaling, Doc rolled onto her back, draping an arm over her eyes and wiping away what tears were left.

    "Gator Bait, this is Rug Bug calling in."

Weakly smiling, Doc reached over to her nightstand and picked up her walkie. "This is Gator Bait." She croaked.

    "Are you okay?"

"No. Are you?"

    "No..."

Gently shaking her head, Doc let out a breath. "Well, we can be not okay together."

There was a bit of silence before the crackling of static could be heard again, "Sorry the best night of the year was ruined..."

"What are you talking about? It was still the best because we were together."

    "It was... not the best."

"Okay, yeah, nowhere near. But it wasn't a total bust. We got to show off our costumes, we got a bunch of candy and my new skate tricks were documented. I'd say that's an A for effort, right?"

Will's chuckle could be heard over the static. "Yeah. An A for effort."